All agricultural, horticultural and fisheries universities in the State will be reviewed by a national-level expert committee for a comprehensive overhaul of universities proposed to be taken up by the government, Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankar Reddy said on Thursday.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the annual Krishi Mela, organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru. He said the committee to evaluate the current level of universities would be formed within a fortnight.
The expert committee, according to him, will study the functioning of agricultural universities, the basic infrastructure available there, and research, among other things. “At present there is not much information available on the level of scientific research, financial stability of the universities, or technical problems. We need to understand the quality of academic and research activities at the universities. The evaluation will include these and the government can take corrective steps after the expert committee submits its report,” he said.
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Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, who inaugurated the Krishi Mela, opined that there was a need to create river grids on the lines of power grids for the benefit of agriculture. “Inter-linking of rivers will prevent river water getting into the sea and, instead, the water can be used in agriculture. The management of water meant for agriculture in the country is not good. River management has to be improved,” he said.
Award winners
On the occasion, farmer Prasad Ram Hegde from Yellapur taluk was felicitated with the M.H. Mari Gowda State-level Horticulture Award, while Hema Ananth of Hassan taluk received the ‘Can Bank Best Woman Farmer’ award. M.N. Ravishankar of Madanahalli in Kolar district received the ‘Can Bank Best Farmer’ award.
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Among the highlights of this edition of Krishi Mela are sessions on agriculture technology developed by Israel, demonstration of drones being used for spraying pesticide, and launch of an app to calculate fertilizer quantity depending on crop and nature of soil.
More than 800 participants are displaying their wares in agriculture, agricultural engineering, and animal husbandry sections. The university authorities expect about 11 lakh people to visit the four-day mela.